Top 5 Failed Fast Food Ideas

5. Burger King table service

In an attempt to draw more customers, Burger King did two things that almost led it to bankruptcy in the 1990s: They introduced an MTV style ad campaign and they made their restaurants sit down style after a certain hour. This new classy set up simply didn’t appeal to the majority of its customers who just wanted a quick meal.

In trying to class up Burger King by putting table cloths on the plastic tables, introducing waiters, and offering popcorn as an appetizer, Burger King scared a lot of people away. Despite being initially popular with some singles, it was discontinued in 1993. Burger King needs to learn from their failed fast food ideas – copying the competition doesn’t work!

4. Hula Burger

 

Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s, had a problem in the early 1960s. Many of his restaurants were struggling on Fridays due to Catholic fasting rules. The Solution? Introduce a burger with pineapple substituting meat.

Many people did not find this appetizing, especially when the Church had popular Friday fish fries at the time. When a Cincinnati McDonald’s owner claimed that his burger, with fish in it, was better, it was on. Nationwide, more and more McDonald’s began introducing the Fish Filet, with most people switching over from the pineapple. The Hula burger was dropped less than a year later.

 3. Arch Deluxe

In 1996, in an attempt to target older Americans who avoided McDonald’s due to its child-friendly policy, McDonald’s tried to create products that would appeal to older adults. In a 300 million dollar marketing campaign, they introduced Deluxe menu items, including the Arch Deluxe, along with the oddly frightening masco Mac Tonight.

When studies came in showing that the whole line was tanking, McDonald’s introduced a creepy ad campaign which included a coupon for a free Arch Deluxe over a child’s mouth and commercials of Ronald McDonald dancing at a night club. This did little to win over any demographic, and by 1997, the Deluxe line was out.

2. Wendy’s Superbar

 

Beginning in 1988, Wendy’s introduced not one, not two, but three different buffet bars in all its restaurants. With Salad, Italian, and Mexican offerings, Wendy’s tried to attract a new demographic. And, to everyone’s amazement, the idea actually worked, with people flocking to take advantage of it.

After its early popularity, however, problems arose. Having three distinct food selections near one another does not bode well for appetites. Furthermore, the staff had to put a lot in a lot of extra effort managing the buffets which led to dramatically increased waiting times for customers. By 1998, the superbar was gone.

1. Bell Beefer

 

From the 1970s to the 1980s, Taco Bell offered the Bell Beefer—think taco meat inside a hamburger bun. The Bell Beefer was actually well received despite its appearance. That is until health officials took one look at the thing and found low health value in it—even by Taco Bell standards. Also, the sandwich had a hard time staying together due to the ingredients. Needless to say, that lead to a number of complaints. With the problems piling up, Taco Bell got rid of it.

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